Never the Right Viking
by Yukiko-ana
Summary: Hiccup was never the right Viking, even with her father hiring Astrad to try make her one. The disappointment changed when she pulled that lever on one of her disastrous runs during a dragon raid. Looking into the eyes of her enemy, she realized she is a Viking. Just a different one.
1. Chapter 1: This is Berk

**A/N:** There are many words running through your head right now, I'm sure. Either cursing me for the length of this chapter (4,500's - dude I muttered profanities to myself too) or something, but mind you - I didn't know it was gonna be like this ... I just felt like it needed more. So hence, the long first chapter. Blah blah blah. Moving on x)

So Hiccup's name is Hiccup, and will always remain as such because of how it's just a proper name for her :) Astrad is Astrid's name as a boy, instead of "divine beauty", my research found it as "divine strength."

I was completely befuddled by the fact that there's not a lot of genderswaps - either that or I just can't find these things - so I decided to write one of my own. I was heavily inspired by StoriesOfAnInsomniac's works - believe me, they are **heavily** _ **recommended**_. So when I was left waiting for the update on the second installment of their trilogy, I felt restless and couldn't help but think up my own twist to the plotline and inclusions to it, so here we are. I decided to make one where Hiccup's a bit more misunderstood, Stoick struggles more to deal with her, and Astrad's more ... or less someone who runs after her a lot :D

 **Enjoy :)**

 **Disclaim: I don't own anything of How to Train Your Dragon - for I am a hopeless blundering hiccup in high school with absolutely zero chances of owning something this awesome :D**

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 **Chapter 1: This is Berk**

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 _This here, is Berk._

 _Twelve days North of hopeless and ever so pleasantly few degrees South of freezing to death. Located directly on the Meridian of Misery. Home to the Hairy Hooligans, my village and tribe. We're sturdy - been here for seven generations but yet every single building is new. Our lovely attractions include fishing, hunting, and some of the best views of the sunsets._

 _Our only problems are the pests._

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Maybe ... maybe it was a tree? No - she could see something forming that didn't look like leaves. Probably a structure... No, no Hairy Hooligan could come up with a structure like that, so there was no way she could've thought of - ah now it wasn't a structure. Not a roof or a tree - it was hair. A mess of spiky hair.

A small smile rose up to Hiccup's lips as she leaned forward with further interest. She watched her hand move, the mess of spikes now growing and two longer stands on both sides.

As of the current moment, she was sitting at a table in the den of her home in front of the fire. She had woken up early to make a light breakfast for her father before he left to get at his patrols. Not being able to get back to sleep, she tried to find something to occupy herself. After a failed attempt at finding something to read or work on, she settled for drawing. So there she was, drawing to her heart's content in the leather bound notebook she cherished.

And it looked like a promising drawing of equal liking.

The charcoaled wood in her hand was leaving behind the lines of a strong jaw that did injustice to the actual perso. Her small smile grew softer one as she drew the eyes.

 _"Dragons!"_

Hiccup sucked in a startled breath, hand posed just above the paper. She dropped her hands on the table, pushing herself up to stare at the large door.

 _"They're on the eastern side!"_

She scrambled for the door, grunting to pull it open only to meet a Nightmare turning towards the noise. It opened its mouth and with a yelp, she slammed the door shut, throwing her back against the heating door.

"Dragons it is then," Hiccup muttered, waiting until the Nightmare was gone before stumbling out the flaming door.

Berk wasn't a bad place to live, really! Of course, you had to get over the fact that there are dragons. Well that, and that they continuously steal the food supply, take livestock, burn the houses and watch towers, and occasionally may take a limb or life. But that wouldn't stop the Vikings from living there. Even if they had to face the occasional food shortage, constant repairs, and multiple injuries, this tribe would never leave. Why? Because Vikings had stubbornness issues.

... _Really_ big stubbornness issues...

"What are you doing?"

"Hurry up and get inside!"

"Stay out of the way!"

Hiccup dodged another incoming Viking that charged at a Gronckle beyond her, her shoulder length hair was not helping as it kept whipping into her sight. But it was something she got used to, running blindly passed more Vikings, who hollered at her to get inside, and more dragons who may have glanced at her.

No one wanted her outside, and in the long run, Hiccup knew why. Of course, whether they wanted her out of the way or not, she still had to get to the forging stall - even if _she_ wanted to or not. Only problem was that the stupid thing was in the middle of town and her house was on the blasted hill way from the main part. And a lot could happen on her way over to the stall-

She yelped, jumping to avoid a rogue fireball that landed directly where her feet had been.

A rough grip on the back of her tunic pulled her high up off the ground. She would've panicked, thinking a dragon was taking her with it.

If, you know, her captor hadn't spoken up.

"Hiccup! What do you think you're- What is she doing out here? Where's Astrad?" He demanded, searching the surrounding faces for the one he ordered. Hiccup sighed.

This was none other than Stoick the Vast, her _father_. He was Chief of the Hairy Hooligans and the strongest and largest Viking on the island of Berk. Knowledgeable as all leaders, braver than any tribe put together, more honest than the drunkards in the Great Hall, and _easily_ tempered. There was a rumor that when he was but a baby, he managed to knock the head off a full grown dragon. Did she believe this? Without a doubt. Why? Well for good reason. He got really angry when she was out...

She knew he simply wanted her out of the way. Gobber says it's for her safety. Others say it's for their own.

The only reason why she half-heartedly believed Gobber, was because-

"I'm here, sir."

-Stoick had gotten her a trainer.

A blush had risen to Hiccup's face. Pushing his way through the older Vikings, was Astrad. His face was shining slightly with sweat from the fires and the constant running but his face showed indifference.

Stoick released his grip on Hiccup, dropping her onto all fours with a grunt. She barely had a moment to register that as a smaller but firm grip took her elbow. "Get her inside!" Stoick ordered before she was pulled up.

Astrad didn't need to be told twice, shielding her back as he ushered her away. She fought another onslaught of blood rushing up to her cheeks as she felt Astrad brush against her when he covered her from another house being set on fire. He seemed oblivious to it as he maneuvered her around the most dangerous of routes, avoiding many attacks with her occasional yelp and his occasional grunt.

She was almost relieved when he brought her to the door of the stall. Scaring her when he slammed her against the door pane, he shielded her again from another attack behind them. "Th-thanks Astrad." She mumbled.

His icy blue eyes were on her, giving her a curt nod.

"Glad ta see the two of ya joinin' the party," came Gobber, the meat headed man with attitude and prosthetic limbs called, working on sharpening another battle axe. "Almost though' that ye let Hiccup get carried off, puttin' out fires an' all." He glanced at the two with a smirk.

Astrad rolled his eyes. "Doubt me much?"

"If a tad bit," Gobber chuckled, the boy snorted and Hiccup gave the man an offended look.

"Please, even without Astrad they wouldn't know what to do with..." She looked down, gesturing to her small figure, painfully aware that he still hadn't unhanded her, "...all this."

"They need toothpicks, don' they?"

Hiccup shot him a look. A sudden pressure on her elbow made her look up at Astrad's stern glare. "Hiccup, you stay here in the stall, I have to go help out now. Do me a favor and not get Stoick angrier." Gobber snorted, managing to hide it as a cough for both of the teenager's glances.

When didn't Hiccup get the man angrier than a dragon could?

"I-"

"Hiccup."

The girl sighed and nodded. He gave her arm one last squeeze and released her to sprint from the stall. Gobber watched Hiccup with amusement as she muttered profanities, rushing to replace her fur vest with her apron.

If anything, Hiccup was took pride in that she managed to upgrade weapons nearly better than Gobber. Having been Gobber's apprentice since she was young, it was a habit. Gobber managed to appraise that aspect of her, even if he didn't agree with the weapons she tried to _create_. The only problem was that this wasn't what she wanted to do.

In the midst of handing back weapons to Vikings at the counter, Hiccup was able to get a clear view of a Gronckle shooting flames at a house nearby, burning it completely.

A shout made her look over to water keg, leaning to get a better look. It was a group of teens around her age there, all of them were filling up buckets of water to put out the fire.

Charging head first towards the flames, was her cousin, Snotlout. Arrogant and bullheaded, bulky with muscles for a boy in mid-teens, and already down the same path as his father. He was by far the most annoying of the group, and Hiccup was sure it was mostly for how much time she had to spend with the buffoon. With their fathers being close brothers, she had to constantly deal with said idiot.

Following him was Fishlegs, an awkwardly round boy who at often times reminded her of a mouse. Astrad told her that he was actually pretty decent to talk to, once you got past whatever long stream of dragon info he would spout out. Not that Hiccup would try, she could hardly talk with him because of his friends.

Not far behind the two, the twins fighting over a bucket. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the oldest being Ruffnut. Similarly to Snotlout, they were a bit on the annoying side with their constant disagreement. They, however much they argued, seemed to be one and the same, from whatever angle you looked at. It just seemed that Ruffnut was more mischievous and her brother more vulgar.

The four of them were somewhat oddly grouped for friends compared to other teens their age, but they were well-known, especially for their active aid during dragon raids. More so was their unspoken leader, Astrad, whom was quick behind them.

Astrad Hofferson was known as the strongest, most intelligent, incredibly talented, strong-willed, fittest, and the most insanely good-looking young Viking of the Hairy Hooligans, definitely living up to his namesake. His promising success had his future entirely set by hand of his mother and the Chief himself, already designating a spot as a high order of the tribe, what spot was yet to be clarified to Hiccup. It was because of all this 'perfection' that had led Stoick to hire him as Hiccup's trainer, or _keeper_ as you will. It was a 'last resort' to attempt to get Hiccup to be the right Viking, but even that was a lost cause. Yet Astrad seemed adamant on keeping the girl in check, being the only one that she could talk to even if he spoke orders to her most of time, only offering words of guidance whenever she voiced her doubts.

It was because of _that one little fact_ that had caused Hiccup to gain such a massive fancy towards him. As far as she was aware, only Gobber knew that she did.

But it was for everything else, that she wanted to get out there and be like him. To prove herself to her father, to show everyone that she wasn't a lost cause under Astrad's attempt to teach her, to show him that she wasn't Hiccup the Useless. As she watched Astrad dodge a Nadder's flame shot, she felt that she wanted him to rely on her too.

Hiccup gripped the counter to pull herself up. She didn't get far when prosthetic pincers grabbed the back of her tunic. "An' where ya think yer goin'?"

"For crying out loud, Gobber," the girl groaned as he dropped her away from the counter. "I need to make my mark."

"Ah, ya've made plenty of marks - all in the wrong places." The man waved his pincers at her.

"Please let me out." She pleaded, "Just a few minutes- a few minutes and I'll kill a dragon. My life will be socially better, Snotlout might not dunk my head in a barrel next time I deal with him, and I might even convince Astrad that I have potential." She gestured outside, trying to keep a stubborn front that Gobber had seen many times.

"Don' think so, lassie." He answered, "If ya can't lift the hammers or clubs, can't swing axes or swords, for Odin's sake, if ya can't even throw these," he held up the bolas that was snatched by a passing Viking, "then you can't go outside!"

The sweat of nerves dripped down the back of her neck, "o-okay so that's true. B-but I've been working on something!" She held her hand up to keep Gobber at bay as she jogged backwards and gestured to an odd looking contraption. "This can throw them for m-" The brush of her fingers activated the weapon, making the Bolas Shooter throw a ball at breakneck speed.

Gobber barely had time to dodge as it hit a Viking coming up to the stall. Both stared stupidly at the fainted man before Gobber turned back. "See, now this, this righ' 'ere is exactly wha' I mean." He poked her shoulder.

"Hey!" Hiccup yelped, "It's just a few mild calibration issues I need to tweak-"

"Hiccup," Gobber interrupted sternly, "if ya ever wanna get out there ta fight _dragons_ , yer gonna need ta stop with..." He hestitated, "... all of this."

She looked down at herself, "but you just pointed at _all_ of me!"

"Precisely, lassie!" Gobber grinned with this seemingly newfound explanation, "ya need ta stop bein' all of ye."

"Oooh," nodded Hiccup sarcastically, Gobber mimicking her. "You, my friend, are playing the wrong game! You'll learn your lesson for keeping all this raw Vi- oi!" She yelped, struggling under the weight of the blunt sword that he had thrust into her hands.

"Berk'll take their chances, fer now, sharpen." He called, waving away her next yelp of profanity as she tumbled onto the floor.

Sitting up, Hiccup glared at his back. _One day, just you wait,_ she thought, struggling to stand and work. It was always like this, for her to be pushed back into the stall. Okay, she knew it was for her ( _several_ ) inventions that she had tried to use and ended in disaster. But what did they expect? Gobber basically told it how it was, she couldn't lift or use any sort of weapon. Astrad had tried teaching her but not matter what he tried, she couldn't do it. She openly longed for a day out of the stall and everyone knew it.

But only few knew that she simply wanted a chance.

A chance to kill her first dragon.

With her reputation, though, it needed to be a good dragon. Killing dragons was everything around here, especially to the teens around her age. Nadders would get her noticed - at the least. Gronkles were tougher - a blush would often rise to her cheeks when she thought of Astrad rewarding her kill with a peck on the cheek. The Zippleback would be exotic in her case, for two heads, double the status - so probably a kiss from Astrad. Then there's the Monstrous Nightmares, which she wouldn't even bother with for her first try - only the best could go after them. Those pests had the annoying habit of setting themselves on fire.

If you thought that was the biggest prize, though, well you got another thing coming buddy.

The hair on the back of her neck curled when her sharp ears caught the sound of a low whistle in the far distance. Her hands that were working the bellow instantly froze.

For the biggest prize of all, the Night Fury had decided to make its presence known. Tricky, those were. They never show themselves, never steal any food, and possibly the worst of all, they _never miss_. These beasts were the ones that her father worried the worst about, he kept the closest eye on them even if he couldn't see them. Gobber once told her that her father had the ability to detect a Night Fury before it struck. Clearly-

"Gobber, get down!" Hiccup shouted, ducking behind the barrel of coal. She was barely able to hear his drop to the floor from the sound of a plasmatic flame blast that shook the ground outside. There were multiple shouts of the dragon's name to follow.

-Hiccup had that trait as well. And that was exactly why, she was going to be the one to get it.

"Good one, tha' one, lass." Gobber remarked, lifting himself from the ground and reaching over his work desk to get his interchangeable battle axe arm.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "where are you going?"

"They need me out there. So Hiccup, stay in the stall." He grunted, clicking in his weapon and hobbling towards the door.

"Hey-" She called incredulously, picking herself up, meeting the warning gaze from her mentor.

"Stay." He punctuated his axe. And turned to leave before looking back again, "put." When he turned the third time, Hiccup had to fight off an eye roll, "here - you know what I mean." He frowned, noting her look, turning with a battle cry and charging out of there.

But his words fell on deaf ears as a small grin came to Hiccup's lips.

It was minutes later when she threw off her smithing apron, shrugged into her vest, grabbed her machinery - after fixing it a bit, mind you - and hightailed out through the back door. There was no way she was gonna risk a run-in with Astrad.

Getting a quick look, she began to wheel the shooter in the direction of an uninhabited cliff overlooking a watch tower. Other Vikings noticed as she passed the fray, shouting multiple variations of 'get back inside'. Her responses were limited to apologies and 'excuse-me's as she dashed through, her mind elsewhere.

Coming to a halt at the edge of the cliff, she hissed, pulling down the lever to set her contraption. She shoved her nose underneath the eyepiece to get a view of the starry sky.

"Give me something," she whispered, turning the shooter. At this point she was desperate for something. With one too many disappointments under her belt, one too many pitiful looks towards her father and Astrad, one too many flinches and disgusted faces.

One too many failures.

She was desperate for anything.

A sudden screech to her left made her focus her sights on the watch tower. The quick purple blast nearly blinded her as she followed a black shadow. She turned her aim quickly, a small cry coming from her lips when she slipped, accidentally firing the Shooter in a random direction after the shadow.

She sat up, looking frantically towards her shot. High and desperate hope held her breath as she watched. And her hope was not in vain.

The loud and painful screech of the Night Fury was heard, Hiccup's eyes brightened. Scrambling to stand, she rushed to the cliff's edge, watching in wonder as the falling dragon shot towards Raven's Point.

She hit it. She hit it. For the love of Odin and Frigga, _she hit it!_

"I did it!" Hiccup cried, jumping and fist pumping into the air with every little fiber in her body. " _I hit it!_ " She whooped, twirling. "Did anyone see that? Please tell me someone saw th-"

A sudden crunching sound made her flinch, turning her sights towards her Shooter, now a pile of heap under deadly orange claws.

All happy feeling was gone as her eyes met the gaze of another Monstrous Nightmare. Twice in one day ... how charming.

"Not you..." She mumbled in slight fear, her eyes widening as she took steps back. The predatory look in its eyes made her gulp. "Definitely not you..."

And like that, she turned tail and ran for her life, letting out a scream as she did, ducking under a swipe of claws in her sprint. Her answer was the Nightmare's terrifying roar as it followed after her, seemingly annoyed with her evasiveness. Not that she'd ever try to let him get the glory, no matter how simple it was to down _her_.

Rushing over the ridges and down the pathways she came, she somehow managed to dodge all the streams of fire shot in her direction. "I am an idiot, I am an idiot, I am an idiot," she repeated with bated breath as she skirted away from flame shots. "Oh I am an idiot. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die right after I caught a Night Fury - oh I am so dead." She muttered to herself, jumping over a fallen tree trunk and dashing towards the square.

The Nightmare still hot on her tail. This was so bad - if Astrad or her dad found her... Shaking the thought, Hiccup focused once again before her, feeling her lungs starting to tighten with lack of oxygen. She had to hide or something, there was no way she'd be able to keep running like this. If it wasn't soon, she was gonna be dragon feed in a few minutes.

Almost like an answer to her prayers, there was a thick pillar ways before her. She felt the burn in her thighs as she pushed herself harder.

A sudden swipe for her legs knocked her to the floor. She coughed from the dust of the dirt, groaned when she felt pain on her left leg from the hit and the burning skid marks on her palms. But she was quick to try and scramble onto her back, keeping an eye on the dragon that was preparing to burn her into a crisp.

Panting heavily, she looked into the depth of its opened mouth. She screwed her eyes shut, throwing her arms up for cover.

"Hiccup!"

Her heart jutted for a split second, before Astrad slammed into her with plenty of force to send them rolling to her side. Otherworldly heat soared passed them as they did, completely missing them. She landed on her side with Astrad crouched above her, shielding her from the view of the Nightmare turning angrily in their direction.

"Astrad," she breathed, looking up at him as he kept his hard gaze on the dragon, "you-"

"I thought I told you to stay in the stall," he growled back, ducking his head when the Nightmare prepared to shoot again. Hiccup imitated him, ducking under him. A roar that wasn't dragon made them reluctantly look up, and Hiccup was never more relieved to see her father kicking the dragon's head and initiating a brawl with it.

Now against a formidable opponent, the Nightmare backed up. It was clear after running to prey on Hiccup, it ran out of its firepower, leaving it with only claws that had knocked her over. But that didn't deter Stoick who readied his fist with his palm, giving a mighty battle cry as he dove and punched the dragon's jaw. Multiple punches and kicks came after showed the Nightmare that it couldn't win the fight, something Stoick was undoubtedly proud of. Especially when it roared at him and backed away, clumsily slipping into flight. Stoick gave a snort as he turned to examine them.

She heard Astrad's breath of relief, taking her elbow and pulled her up. Hiccup winced, feeling her leg already threatening to bruise, sighing when she caught her father's indignant gaze on the sky over her head.

She didn't have to turn back to look - the look on Astrad's and Stoick's face was more than enough. Instead, she forced herself to gulp and fiddle with the bottom of her green tunic as she waited for the cloud of victorious dragons to pass.

And who was going to be the first person they blamed it on? Her. Obviously. She'd get some shouting lectures courtsey her father. Judging by the little twitch of his jaw, she could tell it wasn't going to be pretty.

Astrad sighed deeply, reaching up to softly smack the back of her head. "Idiot."

...Oh yeah ... it was bad.


	2. Chapter 2: Let Her Learn

**Chapter 2: Let Her Learn**

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"Sorry dad..." Hiccup mumbled, avoiding her father's hard gaze. The only noise interrupting them was thudding footsteps and the fire crackling about them, alerting her that they had an audience now. But audience didn't matter to her father, that was never the issue. She was.

And he took no mercy in reprimanding her. "Sorry's not cutting it, Hiccup." He rumbled, making the girl wish the ground would just swallow her already.

"I- I understand, dad, but..." Hiccup scratched the back of her neck, trying to look up. "...I did manage to..." She trailed again, feeling courage wither away when she felt all the angry glares. The whole revelation of her catch would only make this worse ... and she really didn't need that.

"To what? To set us back several months again as we try to store up for winter?" Stoick demanded, gesturing around them. "Hiccup, I need this stop. I cannot keep doing this, girl!"

"I caught a Night Fury dad-"

"I may be your father, but I am also a chief! You need to understand that Astrad and I won't be able to save you all the time."

"But I-"

He interrupted again, making her flinch. "We have other things to be doing in the village and your safety won't always be in priority! I have a village I need to feed and protect, as my daughter, the least you could do is realize that." He barked, the Vikings surrounding him nodded in consent.

"I'm sorry dad," She stated, hesitant, "it's just. We're Vikings, it's in our nature to want to kill a dragon, and it's in my nature. I just see a dragon, and I-I want to kill it. Because I'm a Viking-"

"No."

Hiccup froze, turning to look up at Astrad. He avoided her gaze, but her father answered her for him, "you're a lot of things, Hiccup. But a Viking is not one of them." Stoick sighed and watched as she swallowed. None of the three spoke, and Hiccup didn't bother looking up until the last minute. Her jaded eyes met Stoick's.

Her father always said that her mother believed that the two looked alike more than any other family pair. From the hair, to the skin tone, to the freckles and just a birthmark on their shoulder. He always said that she believed they acted the same, with the same big heart. But now Hiccup couldn't see any two beings more different the two. Him with russet eyes to match his hair, hers of emerald. His body built thick and tough, hers small and fragile.

And what they had in their heart and minds, far different than each other's. Neither understood what the other was trying to show the other in this glance. It wasn't something new. It was always like this...

The large man sighed, and Hiccup returned her gaze to the ground. "Someone get her home, I have her mess to clean."

She didn't have to be a genius to know who accepted the order. The gentle brush of a finger against her sleeved arm was enough to tell her. She didn't linger, turning away as her father did and began trekking back to her house. Astrad was right behind her as they walked, but Hiccup ignored him for her own bitter thoughts. Even when they neared the teens from his fire group.

"Nice performance out there," Tuffnut smirked at their approaching forms. Hiccup scrunched her face, not bothering to look up as Ruffnut snickered beside him.

A punch came to her shoulder making her wince. Sure enough, Hiccup came face to face with Snotlout's cocky grin. "What a way to screw up! Haven't see you do it like that in a _while_." He laughed.

"Thanks," Hiccup quipped sarcastically, trying to walk around him.

"No really, Hiccup," he intercepted, "that was one of the most- ack!" Hiccup flinched when Astrad had reached over her shoulder and snapped Snotlout's Viking helmet down into his eyes, shoving him to the side. She didn't look up at Astrad, only giving Fishlegs a nod and hastened her pace away from them.

But that didn't keep Astrad from keeping up with her, matching her stride perfectly as he ignored the twins' cackling laughter at Snotlout's blunder. It wasn't until they reached the pathway up to her house that Astrad decided to break the tense silence.

"What are you thinking, now?" He asked, getting a glance from her. Hiccup bit her tongue, glaring at him as she hurried up the path. To her dismay he kept right with her. "Well?"

She shook her head, looking away from him as she took the steps up the porch. "Nothing."

"Hiccup," he murmured, touching her elbow fleetingly.

It was exactly for this reason that she couldn't help but like him.

It took a moment till she sighed and turned to face him. "He never listens to me - or at least never hears me out, never even lets me begin. ...Astrad, I actually _caught_ something, this morning." Hiccup looked up at him, watching as his eyebrow quirked upwards. "But I couldn't even say that because whenever he _does_ listen, he always has that disappointed scowl on his face like when the chef skims the meat on his sandwich." She rolled her eyes, going into weak imitation of her father. "'Excuse me, barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra-large _boy_ with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side, with the large reputation to drink! This here? This is a tiny talking fishbone of feminine taste, with a mug of Hel.'" She gestured to herself with a gloomy look.

"Don't you think you take it too far?" Astrad scowled.

She stared at him, hurt. "Are you siding with him?"

"No," Astrad sighed, reaching up to ruffle his hair in frustration, "I mean taking it too far on yourself."

"Oh believe me," she started, angrily fighting an embarrassed blush, "he was wishing for a son to be proud of since I'm such a useless little 'hiccup' that ruins the town."

"I'm sure-"

"Wishing for a son who could say he's a Viking and won't be interrupted with a 'no.'" Astrad's eyes widened a bit. She turned from him to open the door.

Her attempts were foiled again as his hand grabbed hers, pulling her back to look at him. Jaded eyes met icy blue, and for a moment, Hiccup didn't know what to expect. Maybe an apology would've been nice, he was hardly ever one to insult her unless she nearly got him killed - which was quite a few times when he tried to teach her how to use weapons. Maybe an order that would tell her to stop being foolish and accept it, that was more like him.

"Hey, it's not what you look like or what gender you are that matters to Stoick. It's just the you on the inside he can't..." He hesitated, catching sight of the look on her face.

"But I just wanna show him that I can be like you, someone who can make him proud..." She mumbled, forcing her hand from his grip and running through the door.

Astrad's voice carried to her ears before she could close it. "There's just some things that people can't do."

Her lip quivered under her teeth, forcing her to shut the door completely. She wasn't successful in forcing her tears back, letting a few slip through. But her mind was far from controlling herself, settling on one thing only. As her reddened eyes caught sight of her forgotten notebook on the table, she knew what she had to do. Brushing angrily at one of her tears, she walked over, sticking the charcoaled wood into the notebook and stuffing it into her vest.

"I can try."

And she ran through the back door and into the forest behind her house.

-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-

 _"Either we finish them, or they finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them!"_

 _Drag_. The image wouldn't leave. The one where she hid behind her arms before the Nightmare. It prickled his blood with something dark, powerful, something protective.

 _"Sir, we have tried many times to do so but the dragons have never even halted their attacks. We are always set back in our attacks when we come back."_

 _Screech_. Her voice wouldn't leave his ears, a tone that had quivered in low disappointment of herself. Where she just admitted her darkest thought and want. Something that tore at him no matter what he tried.

 _"But we can't not do something. We cannot continue in battle with these beasts. We cannot keep living like this, we need to get rid of them. We cannot keep losing supplies and food because of them."_

 _Drag._ The hesitance to close the door when he spoke out to her. He knew she took his consoling words the wrong way. Guilt ate at him-

"We wouldn't struggle with supplies if disaster didn't always strike because of-" A sudden axe lodged its way into the wood of the meeting circle. All eyes turned back to the tables, where Gobber sat and Astrad stood. The man amusedly raised his eyebrow at the boy whose hand twitched and gripped the sharpening rock harder. His eyes were hard.

The shield maiden that had been speaking held a look of shock. He didn't care.

"Continue, Chief." Astrad gestured. Stoick nodded thanks.

"If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home, just one more search before the ice sets."

"Stoick, those ships never come back." Spitelout muttered under his hand, glancing around nervously.

The chief licked his lips, standing proud as he addressed the rest of the room. "We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?"

Astrad turned away from a room that quickly fumbled for excuses. Ever since Stoick had him train for his future position of the tribe, meetings were his least favorite. He always hated having to hear this part, and the part that came after. They were difficult, and with an exasperated sigh from Gobber, he knew it was for him as well.

"Alright," Stoick nodded nonchalantly, and for a moment everyone seemed relieved, "those who stay, will look after Hiccup."

Every Viking raised their hand, shouts of encouragement roared from their mouths. Spitelout eagerly clapped his hand on Stoick's shoulder, "I'm with you, brother!"

He watched as the crowd of Vikings dispersed from the meeting circle. Astrad was hardly looking forward to the days when he would have to be a part of them. It wasn't that he hated having to plan out things, he was a tactician actually, and he didn't mind that. But it had been for what they were saying, well suggesting more like. He knew that when Hiccup was out in a dragon raid, it didn't always end prettily, and yes he would get angry with her for it. But even _he_ wanted her around, and didn't shun her like these adults.

"I'll go pack me undies." Gobber said, taking a swig from his mug prosthetic. Astrad snorted, walking over to the circle and dislodging his axe. Frowning, he switched hands, looking down at them with curiosity now. There was blood on his right hand, seeping through the material of his training gloves.

Odd, he didn't remember getting cut. Flesh wound? Flexing his fingers didn't make him feel one. Then- ah. Astrad shook his head lightly, Hiccup had fallen on her hands. Damn.

"No, Gobber." Stoick sighed, coming to their table, "I need you to train new recruits." Right, training. He nearly forgot about that. Every year Stoick would have someone train recruits as he pulled men to crew the ships. This year he was of age to participate in the training.

"Oh sure," nodded the blond sarcastically, "an' while I do tha', Hiccup'll watch the stall. Plenty o' metal an' fire with plenty o' time to herself. Wha' could possibly go wrong?" He gave Astrad a meaningful look when the boy returned.

Stoick slumped onto the bench, "what am I going to do with her, Gobber?"

"Ya can put 'er into trainin' with the others." The suggestion managed a curious look from Astrad. He had been trying to train her since she was ten - nearly five years ago. She hadn't mastered anything correctly, leading him to feel the need to protect her.

Stoick wasn't having it. "I'm serious, Gobber."

"Well, so am I."

"Oh please, she'd be killed before you even let the first dragon from its cage." Stoick sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Astrad scowled but did not speak up. Stoick hated the suggestion, the idea of Hiccup in danger, even more so than the danger she caused on accident. She couldn't fight to save her life, and he knew that. Did he really think that Astrad didn't value Hiccup? She was much more tolerable than Snotlout, actually.

The other man rolled his eyes, waving it away, "ya don' know tha'."

"Yes I do."

"No ya don'."

"Yes I do."

"No, Stoick," Gobber slammed his hand on the table, "ya don'. Ya know me and the boy," he pointed at Astrad, "won' let it happen."

Stoick growled frustratingly, shooting him a look as he stood. He walked little ways from the table, covering his mouth as he thought of a response.

Gobber, on the other hand, rounded on Astrad. "So ya give me attitude when I joke abou' ya lettin' Hiccup get carried off but ya don' do i' to Stoick when 'e's serious," he waved his mug at Astrad's face, nearly smacking him. "Yar somet'in' else, laddie."

Astrad batted his prosthetic away, crossing his arms again.

"Now, wha's wrong with ya? Yer worse than usual." Gobber pressed, a knowing smirk on his face. The boy shot him an annoyed glance.

Of course he would know. Ever since he had asked for the position, Gobber knew. There were hardly ever moments that Astrad was so irritable and cranky, and when there was, it was because of something he did or thought he did. He couldn't always understand Hiccup, it was difficult to get through to her when he couldn't form the right words for her. And it frustrated him that Gobber knew that Hiccup was his weakness on that level.

Just as Gobber went to tease him again, Stoick sighed deeply, to which Astrad was inwardly grateful for. "When Hiccup was born, do you remember what Valka said?" He asked, continuing without input, "she told me that even if Hiccup was a girl, she was gonna be just like me. But ever since she could crawl, she was ... different. She talked differently, walked differently, thought differently. I take her fishing and she goes looking for trolls and goblins!"

"Oi, trolls exist!" Gobber exclaimed, Astrad had to fight down a smirk. "Steal yer socks, they do. But only the lef' ones. Wha's with tha'?"

Stoick rolled his eyes as he began pacing, "when I was a boy-"

"Oh here we go," Gobber shared a look with Astrad.

"-my father told me to bash my head against a rock. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And do you know what happened when I did it?"

"Ya go' a headache."

"Concussion?"

"The rock split in two!" Stoick exclaimed, completely ignorant of their answers, "It taught me what a viking could do, Gobber. Taught me that a Viking could crush mountains, levels forests, tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. And Hiccup ... she's not that child. She's not like me." He sighed, rubbing his face as he sat down again.

"Okay," Gobber nodded, "but ya said i' yerself, Stoick, ya won' always be aroun' to protect 'er. She'll git ou' there again, and Astrad migh' not git there in time - don' look a' me like tha', boy. She may no' be the best of vikings, but give 'er the knowledge tha'll help 'er survive a battle. Valka would'a wanted it." He reached over to rest his hand on Stoick's shoulders. The larger man nodded slowly, his hands dropping with the thought. The Chief of the tribe glanced back at him. The blond man merely shrugged, patting his shoulder encouragingly, "jus' think abou' i'."

Just think about it ... but what that really meant to Stoick was to get comfortable with the idea. Of course, he knew he had to. If he didn't, his only daughter - no matter how odd and troublesome she was - would be defenseless and powerless. He had to face his own words from this morning and he knew it. And even if he had the luxury of 'thinking about it,' he already knew what he would do. For Valka. For himself. For Hiccup most of all. He would have to let her into that ring.

"So laddie, wha' ya do this time? Already in trouble with Hiccup this mornin' I'm guessin'."

"Shut up, Gobber."

"Ah, so ya are! That won' do good for yer future marriage."

"I can knock another tooth right out."

"Well now, ya won' go makin' amends with tha' attitude."

-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-

"Why do the gods hate me?" Hiccup growled as she scribbled all over the crude map and snapped the notebook shut. She stashed it back into her vest then proceeded to trudge away from the lonely thicket. There was no way that dragon could've just up and left, right? Well at least she was hoping it couldn't.

Sighing, the brunette continued deeper into the forest. She was honestly about ready to give up. Hunger, exhaustion, and pain was bringing her down. When the sun had reached mid-morning, she had checked her left leg only to find it turning a nasty shade of purple. Her palms weren't doing any better, covered in a bit of charcoal, dirt, and dry blood from the skid marks. She was absolutely starving and cursing her idiocy for charging out without a snack.

She stepped onto a large rock, reaching for an unusually low branch to jump off with. "Other people lose weapons or their helmets, but me?" Hiccup snorted, pushing off the ground, "I managed to lose an entire drag-whoa!" The branch broke from its tree's remains and dropped her onto the ground below. She would've been fine had the dirt she landed upon not given out and made her slip into a nearby furrow.

"Oof!" The air was knocked right out of her, landing hard on her back. "What the-" Her jaded eyes widened when she saw the tree that she had held on to.

Broken as if something had hit it.

-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-

 **Next Update? Errrr We'll see how that works out lol**


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